McDonald's Sweden's Happy Meal box transforms into VR headset

Forget the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift: McDonald's Sweden will soon have everything you need for an excellent virtual reality experience. The company is launching a new version of the Happy Meal box that can transform into a virtual reality headset, which they're calling "Happy Goggles", complete with an in-house VR skiing game.

Happy Goggles will only be available in a handful of stores in a trial run: 14 restaurants are participating, and will sell 3,500 convertible Happy Meal boxes on the weekends of March 5 and March 12. To get the headset you'll have to fork out around US$4.10, which is the typical price of a Happy Meal in Sweden.

Similar to Google Cardboard, McDonald's VR headset requires you to insert a smartphone into the completed cardboard creation, which is (understandably) not included. However the construction process appears to be pretty simple, and it includes a pair of lenses.

Happy Goggles have been created to tie in with Sportlov, a school holiday that allows children to go skiing in the country's numerous winter sports destinations. The game that accompanies the headset is called "Slope Stars", and will work without a VR headset for those that don't have access to one, or with an alternate set such as Cardboard.

If the headset becomes a hit, there's a chance McDonald's will roll it out to a wider audience, potentially to other countries. Considering Google Cardboard and its alternatives typically cost more than a standard Happy Meal, it could be a great way to bring simple VR experiences to the masses.